Voiding shorts for incontinent people



July 8, 1958 J. w. ERNSTORFF 2,842,129

7 VOIDING SHORTS FOR INCONTINENT PEOPLE Filed Aug. 10, 1956 INVENTOR.

955/ 6 1% EP/ISTOIFFF United States PatentQtfice This invention relatesto wearing apparel and 'particularly to wearing apparel for personshandicapped by the disability of incontinence, i. e., those who fororganic or other reasons cannot voluntarily control urinary or fecalfunctioning.

As a result of such incontinence, many persons, including invalids whoare unable by themselves to take ameliorative measures, are compelled tosuffer the discomfort occasioned by contact between the urine and theexternal surface of the skin. When continued for extended periods, thiscondition is known to have caused skin irritations and infections.

It is therefore an object of this invention to prevent any contactbetween the urinary discharge of an incontinent person and his externalskin surfaces when fully clothed or otherwise.

A further object of this invention is to provide for the needs ofambulatory incontinent persons, iwthout restricting other work orrecreational activities.

A feature of this invention is a garment constructed of a double layerof waterproof material fitted to the thighs and torso section of thewearer.

An additional feature of this invention is an absorb ing wadding,sponge, or cloth material inserted between said layers of waterproofmaterial.

These objects and features are accomplished in an illustrativeembodiment of the invention in the form of shorts or drawers,hereinafter referred to as voiding shorts. These voiding shorts aresealed at the top and bottom to form a waterproof container. Ingress tothe voiding shorts for the urinary organ in males and for a catheterconnecting tube in females is effected through an aperture in the innerlayer of waterproof material. In the area between the layers, a highlyabsorbent wadding, cloth or sponge material is inserted to collect anyurine discharge.

A more complete understanding of this invention will be afforded from anexamination of the following specification, appended claims and attacheddrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of applicant'sinvention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of the embodiment ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the front portion of theembodiment of Fig. 1, showing the position of the aperture; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing the aperture layeriiia'ndithe' outside layerZ showing'the placement of N theabsorbent-wmaterial -5 which may for example be :ilO

rubber ohjplasti'cspongeand the openings 11 d 12 f 8st the wearer. 1

Fig.:.13demonstrates .the positioning of the aperture 6 for thepenis-(or tube) in the inside layer 3. An individ- :ualencircling beltportion 9 is provided for thisaperture.

The.tape-13 is adjustable for the comfort of the wearer. 1

.Fig. illustrates in another viewthe relationship between the;aperture-.6, and'the inside layer '3, outside layer 2 andabsorbentmaterial 5.

In practicing-the invention, zippers 4,. 7 'and' 8- are opened, andabsorbent material 5 is placed inthe space": betweeri'the layers 2- and3 as shown in the figures; Thea shorts. are. then .donned bythe user andthe urinary disi fortable fit. Zippers 4, 7 and 8 are closed and theshorts in relation to the inside and outside surfaces of the inv areready for use.

After using the shorts, the saturated material 5 is either discarded, orif reusable, purified. The shorts which may for example comprise awaterproof, non-irritating material such as plastic nylon, are washedand allowed to dry, after which they may be immediately reused as above.

It is noted that the shorts arealso adaptable for voluntary urinarydischarges by the wearer, in consequence of the positioning of zipper 4in front of the aperture 6. It is also seen from the above descriptionthat the penis or mate urinary discharge organ Will be suspended in anormal position and divorced from contact with the collected urine inthe absorbent material 5.

It is understood that the embodiments shown are merely exemplary andthat various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A body discharge garment including an inside and outside layer ofliquid repellent material shaped substantially in the form of shorts,said layers being sealed together at the extreme upper and lower endsthereof to form a liquid-repellent enclosure, said inside layerincluding an adjustable belted portion to vary the dimensions of anaperture enclosing the urinary discharge organ, said outside layerincluding a plurality of zippered closing means for sealing ingressapertures in said outside layer, and an adjustable peripheral beltedportion at the upper end of said garment for conforming said garment tothe body of the wearer, wherein one of said plurality of zipperedclosing means is disposed in contiguous relation to said apertureinclosing said urinary discharge organ to permit voluntary urinarydischarge, and absorbing means disposed in the lower portion of saidliquidrepellent enclosure.

2. A urinary discharge receiving garment for incontinent personsincluding a body portion and two leg portions, integrally joined to forma pair of shorts, said body and leg portions comprising an inner andouter layer of waterproof material, peripheral sealing means connectingsaid layers of said body portion at the upper edge thereof and saidlayers of said leg portions at the lower edges thereof to form awaterproof compartment, peripheral belting means contiguous to saidupper edge of said body portion for adjusting the circumference of saidbody portion, three longitudinal closure devices in said outside layerfor sealing an equal number of access openings to said waterproofcompartment, adjustable belting means in said inside layer to define thecircumference of an aperture surrounding the urinary discharge organ,and absorbing means disposed in the lower leg portions of saidwaterproof compartment, wherein one of said three closure devices isdisposed adjacent to said discharge Patented July 8, 1958 nent personsincluding a body section "and-twb leg" sec.- 3

tions integrally joined to form a pair- 0f shorts, said body and legsections comprising an inside and 'outside layer of waterproof materialmeans for joining said layers-of said body section at the upper edgethereof and'saitf-la'yers of said leg sections at the lower edgesthereof to form a waterproof enclosure, three longitudinal zipper'closures in said outer layer for opening and sealing ingress means tosaidenclosure, said zippered closures .includinga first and secondlongitudinal zipper disposed in parallel relation with and contiguous tothe'outside left andright thighs of the wearer, adjustable beltingmeans'in saidinside layer refining the outline of an aperture forenclosing the urinary discharge organ, absorbing means positioned in thelower leg sections of said waterproof enclosure for receiving andcollecting involuntary urinary discharges, said discharge organ apertureand said absorbing means being so disposed as to prevent contact betweenthe discharge organ and collected urinary discharges, and a third ofsaid zipper closures being disposed in a vertical longitudinal relationand adjacent to said discharge organ aperture to enable voluntary"urinary discharge when said zipper is opened.

7 References file of this patent UNITED STA S raTE Ts v 1,228,452Lawrence"; June 5, 1911 1,761,609 Becker; June 3, 1930 15 2,222,825Starck Nov. 26, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 771,336 aFrance July 23, 1934

